Holidays stress me out. Not only do I have to take care of myself, and both the kids during a holiday break, there’s a little matter of a FEAST and COMPANY we have to deal with as well. While my kids tolerate company, they don’t like the feast part. They don’t like the food, they don’t like the fact they have to sit still for hours at a time, and they don’t like to keep their “nice” clothes clean for pictures afterwards. Of course, they let me know all of this through typical autism behaviors – screaming, tantrumming, running away. And I’m the one who gets all the dirty looks from company.

Over the years, the company (family) has come to realize that my kids do need accommodations to participate in the annual holiday traditions of feast and company. I try to feed them ahead of time, so that they only have to look like they are eating a small meal. Gameboy Advance at the table is a must to keep them sitting in place. Pictures are taken before the meal. As they have matured, and can tolerate (play with) company (cousins) more and more, I can actually have conversations with company and help out with clean up.

This year, I was actually excited about the turkey feast. It was supposed to be at my house, but got cancelled. I was excited about the cancellation part. It meant that I didn’t have to try to keep the house clean during school break while baking and cooking for 4+ hours. I was actually looking forward to making boxed mashed potatoes and fried chicken instead of the fancy trimmings. But, the family has insisted on carrying on tradition, so we’ll get dressed up instead and become the company at someone else’s home. I better make sure the Gameboys are fully charged before we leave the house.

​Happy Holidays!

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